Invalid lifting apparatus



Aug. 30, 1966 F. A. BATTY ETAL 3 26mm INVALID LIFTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. e, 19 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. w, 1966 F. A. BATTY ETAL 3,258,918

INVALID LIFTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 6, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m /7 27 Ki 5 l I E I @7 ll e9 E 7o 40/ I I i 58 Aug. 30, 1966 F. A. BATTY ETAL INVALID LIFTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet a Filed Sept. 6, 1.963

Aug. 30, 1966 F. A. BATTY ETAL. 3,@3,918

INVALID LIFTING AP'PARATUS Filed Sept. 6, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,268,918 INVALID LIFTING APPARATUS Frederick Albert Batty, 84 New Road, Bromsgrove, and Peter Lawrence Batty, 98 Harport Road, Redditch, England Filed Sept. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 307,192 6 Claims. (Cl. 4-185) This invention relates to invalid lifting apparatus intended to be used in conjunction with a bath to enable an invalid to be transferred, whilst at the side of the bath, to a lift and which lift can then be operated to lift or raise the invalid and transport him sideways over and then lower him into the bath for treatment and to make return movement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide such an invalid lifting apparatus in which the lift can be swung about a vertical axis whilst, however, being restrained so as to tend to remain in a required angular position or positions.

Other objects of the invention will be obvious from the specification.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one form of invalid lifting apparatus secured in position at the end of a bath,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional plan view on the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 4 and on a larger scale than FIGURES l and 2,

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view of FIGURE 3 on the lines 4-4 thereof,

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view of a detail and on a larger scale than FIGURES l to 4, I

FIGURES 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a part of FIGURE 4 but on a larger scale,

FIGURE 7 is a side view partly in section of a further form of invalid lifting apparatus secured in position at an end of the bath,

FIGURE 8 is a side view partly in section of a detail of FIGURE 7 and on a larger scale,

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary end view of a part of FIGURE 7 and on an enlarged scale and,

FIGURE 10 is a vertical sectional view of a part of a still further form of invalid lifting apparatus.

Referring to FIGURES l to 6 a part of a bath of conventional construction is indicated at and adjacent one end of the bath there is secured to the floor the invalid lifting apparatus indicated generally at 21.

The invalid lifting apparatus comprises a stationary support or body 22 and a lift 23 which includes a forklift arrangement 24 comprising two arms which are spaced apart in side-by-side relation as shown in FIG- URE l and in side elevation as shown in FIGURE 2 and are of angle formation to alford a lower horizontal two pronged fork-lift portion and a back portion rising from the fork-lift portion and said arms are connected together by cross-bars and are supported at their upper ends in a manner to be hereinafter described and said fork-lift portion is adapted to engage a wheeled chair constructed as described in Patent No. 3,220,575, dated November 30, 1965. The fork-lift arrangement is adapted to have associated therewith a removable seat proper or the like on which the invalid can rest and which seat or the like and the lift are adapted to be detaoha-bly connected together.

Alternatively the seat portion of the lift may be of such a length in a direction radially of the post as to enable it to receive a stretcher or the like not provided with a back rest and on which stretcher the invalid is 3,268,918- Patented August 30, 1966 carried and the term removable seat proper or the like is intended also to include such a removable stretcher.

The body 22 comprises a cast base 25 which can be secured to the floor and is formed with an open topped oil reservoir 26. Secured by screw-threaded. studs to an upper part of the base 25 are four vetrical legs 27 of right-angular construction to which is bolted a horizontal top plate 28 which is secured by welding the upper end of a vertically disposed support tube 29 of circularsectional shape. Bracing bars 30 extend between various parts of the body to ensure that the body is rigid in use and said body includes sheet metal cover plates 31 which extend from the top of the body to the base so that the body is capable of enclosing various parts of the apparatus.

Secured within the body, to the legs thereof, is an electric motor 32 which is connected to a hydraulic pump 33 disposed within the oil reservoir 26 and below a normal oil level indicated at 34.

Supported within the bore of the support tube 29 are upper and lower bearing bushes 35 in which is mounted a vertically disposed main tube 36 so that said main tube is vertically slidable and is angularly movable or rotatable around its vertical axis and the vertical axis of the support tube 29 and the upper portion of the main tube at all times projects above the top plate 28 and has secured thereto a head 37 to which the fork-lift arrange ment 24 is secured so that said fork-lift arrangement rises and falls vertically and moves angularly with the main tube 36.

Secured by bolts to the lower end of the support tube 29 is a vertically disposed stop bar 38 of rectangular cross-sectional shape and the lower end of this stop bar extends into the oil reservoir 26 and has secured to said lower end a cylinder cap 39 to which is secured the lower end of a cylinder 40 of 1a hydraulically operated jack which includes a piston 41 provided at its lower end with a piston guide 42 having a slide fit engagement with the bore of the cylinder and formed with axially extending passages 43 in its circumferential wall for the passage of oil past the piston guide. The upper end of the cylinder 40 has secured thereto the lower end of a cylinder gland bush 44 in which the upper end of the piston 4-1 is slidably supported and the upper end of the cylinder gland bush 44 bears against, so as to be supported by, the bore wall of the main tube 36 so that the cylinder 40 and the piston 41 are supported by the main tube which is supported by the support tube 29.

Secured in the upper end of the cylinder gland bush 44 is a gland nut 45 which bear on an annular gland 46 which maintains a seal between the piston 41 and a bore of the cylinder gland bush.

Mounted on the upper end of the piston 41 is an antifriction thrust bearing 47 which bears against the underside of a main tube core 48 which fits the bore of the main tube 29 and is keyed thereto so as to .move always with the main tube and serves to reinforce the upper portion of the main tube against bending strains imposed on the main tube when an invalid is supported on the lift.

In order to permit the inlet and escape of air into and from the bore of the main tube 29 above the gland nut 45 as the main tube is lifted and lowered an air bleed duct 49 is provided in the cylinder gland bush 44 and this extends from the bore of the bush to the exterior thereof so as to communicate with the annular space between the cylinder 40 and the main tube 36 and this air bleed duct can be adjusted to the required size by a set screw 50.

Secured in the bore of the lower end of the main tube 3 36 is a bearing bush 51 which has a slide-fit engagement with the exterior of the cylinder 40.

The cylinder cap 39 is provided at one side with a hole which communicates with the bore of the cylinder 40 and to this hole is connected an oil pressure supply pipe 53 which communicates with the pump 33 so that oil under pressure can be supplied to the interior of the cylinder 40 to cause the piston 41 to be moved upwardly to elevate the lift 23. The jack comprising the cylinder 40 and the piston 41 is of the single-acting kind so as to be power extended and gravitationally retracted.

Secured in the lower end of the support tube 29 and in the cylinder cap 39 and extending horizontally transversely therefrom are studs 55 on which is mounted a catch bar 56 which extends vertically parallel with the axis of the main tube 36 and this catch bar is mounted on the studs so as to be capable of sliding movement along the studs and thus towards and away from the axis of the main tube and said catch bar is urged towards the axis of the main tube by helical springs 57 mounted on the studs 55 and operative between the catch bar' 56 and nuts 58 mounted at or adjacent the outer ends or studs 55. The innermost position of the catch bar 56 can be determined by set screws 59 mounted in the catch bar and operative against the support tube 29 and cylinder cap 39 respectively.

Secured to the exterior of the lower end of the main tube 36 is a catch plate 60 which is formed with two shoulder stops 61 and 62 adapted to co-operate with the opposite vertical sides of the stop bar 38. It follows that the catch plate 60 always moves with the main tube 36 and thus the lift 33 during both the angular and vertical movements thereof, and the stops 61 and 62 are spaced apart so as to co-operate with the stop bar 38 and permit angular movement of the main tube 36 and thus the lift 33 through an angle of 90 in any vertical position which the lift is caused to assume. Thus when the stop 61 is cooperative with the stop bar 38 the fork-lift arrangement 24 of the lift is disposed in one extreme angular position over the bath 20 as shown in full lines in FIGURE 1 whereas when the lift is moved angularly through 90 about the vertical axis of the main tube 36 the stop 62 abuts the stop bar 38 to determine this angular movement and in this other extreme angular position the forklift arrangement 24 is disposed as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1 so as to extend sideways away from the bath in a position enabling an invalid to be transferred to or from the fork-lift arrangement from or to a wheeled chair as described for example in US. application Serial No. 307,150, filed Sept. 6, 1963.

The catch plate 60 is also formed with a cam formation comprising opposite cam shoulders 63 and 64 which are adapted to co-operate with vertical corners of the catch bar 56 in order that the catch plate and thus the main tube 36 and the lift 23 can be non-positively retained in their extreme angular positions.

It will be seen from FIGURE 3 that when the stop 61 is in engagement with the stop bar 38 the catch bar 56 is spring urged into engagement with the cam shoulder 63 so that the lift is non-positively retained in one extreme angular position. If now, a horizontal turning force is applied to the lift said lift and thus the catch plate 60 can be rotated through an angle of 90 and during the initial angular movement the cam shoulder 63 causes the catch bar 56 to be moved away from the vertical axis of the main tube against the action of the springs 57 and during further angular movement of the catch plate said catch bar 56 rides against a fiat face 65 of the catch plate and when the catch plate makes its final movement such that the stop 62 abuts the stop bar 38 the catch bar 56 is caused to snap-engage the cam shoulder 64 so that the catch plate and thus the lift are non-positively retained in this extreme angular position.

The catch plate 60 and the catch bar 56 and its associated parts thus form a non-positive retaining manes between the lift 23 and a stationary support comprising the body 22 and this non-positive retaining means is operative over the entire length of vertical movement of the lift as determined by the vertical stroke of the jack so that the lift in any vertical position it assumes can be non-positively retained in an angular position or positions relative to the vertical axis of rotation but can be moved horizontally in an angular manner about said vertical axis of rotation by application of said horizontal force and sufiicient to overcome restraint imposed on the lift by the non-positive retaining means.

In order to ensure that an invalid can :be transferred to and from the lift in safety a location means is provided which is operative when the lift is in an extreme angular position away from the bath as shown at 103 in dotted lines in FIGURES l and 2 and is intermediate its top and bottom positions indicated at 104 and 105 respectively and which positions are respectively above the bath and approximately level with the bottom of the bath. These location means comprise a fixed stop part 66 which is bolted to the stopbar 38 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 at a position spaced upwardly from the lower end of the stop bar and includes an upstanding lug 67 and also comprise a movable stop part consisting of the catch plate 60 which is formed with an axially extending upwardly convergent groove 69 which can receive the lug 67. The fixed and movable stop parts of the location means are so positioned as to engage each other when the fork-lift arrangement 24 is at the side of the bath 20 and intermediate the top and bottom positions of said forklift arrangement as shown in FIGURE 2 and at which height the fork-lift arrangement 24 is approximately equal to the height of the seat in a wheeled chair to or from which the invalid can be transferred. In this position of the fork-lift arrangement 24, the groove 69 receives the lug 67 and the movable stop part, ie the catch plate 60, rests on a shoulder 70 of the fixed stop part 66 so that the fork-lift arrangement is prevented from making downward and angular movement but can be lifted to disengage the fixed stop part so that the location means are rendered inoperative.

A suitable switch control, not shown, is employed for controlling the electric motor and thus the upward and downward movement of the lift, whilst the angular movement of the lift is preformed by an attendant grasping a convenient part thereof.

Referring now to FIGURES 7 and 9 the invalid lifting apparatus comprises a stationary support secured to a floor adjacent an end of a bath, indicated at 81, and the apparatus also comprises a lift indicated generally at The stationary support includes a vertical metal post 83 which is secured at its lower end to the floor and disposed within the lower part of the post is a power means in the form of a fluid pressure operated jack 84 of which the cylinder 85 is stationary and is supported at its lower end at the lower end of the post.

The lower end of the cylinder is connected by a pipe 86 to a hydraulic pump 87 adapted to be operated manually by a handle 88 which can be oscillated about a horizontal axis at its lower end.

The jack 84 includes a piston 89 which extends from the upper end of the cylinder and is connected to a block 90 formed with a diametral groove in which is located a cross-bar member 91 extending through vertically disposed slots 92 which are diametrally opposed in the post 83 and prevent rotation of the cross-bar member about the axis of the post whilst permitting said cross-member to make vertical sliding movements under the control of the jack which is preferably of the single-acting type so that the cross-bar may be power raised and is gravitationally lowered.

Mounted on the exterior of the post is a cylindrical sleeve 108 which is supported by the cross-bar member 91 and is of circular cross-sectional shape and has a good sliding fit engagement with the post by means of antifriction bushes 93 carried by the sleeve and thus said sleeve is capable of making axial sliding and angular movement relative to the post whilst, however, being adequately supported by said post.

Secured to the sleeve is a fork-lift arrangement generally indicated at 94 and which is substantially as described with reference to FIGURES l to 6 so that said fork-lift arrangement moves vertically and angularly with the sleeve 92.

Formed in the lower end edge of the sleeve 108 are four grooves 95 (only three of which are shown in FIG- URE 8) and these grooves are conveniently of slightly less than semicylindrical cross-sectional form so that two side walls of each groove do not include a vertical portion and adjacent grooves are spaced apart at angles of 90 around the sleeve.

The grooves are arranged to be engaged by each of two projections in the form of balls 96 which are located at diametrally opposite positions in the cross-bar member 91 so as to project upwardly from the upper face of said cross-bar member on which the lower end edge of the sleeve rests or is closely adjacent. Each ball 96 is located in a vertically cylindrical hole in the cross-bar member and each hole receives a set pin 97 on which the appropriate ball 96 rests so that the amount of projection of the ball 96 above the upper face of the cross-bar member 91 can be adjusted to slightly less than half the diameter of the ball.

The grooves 95 and the balls 96 thus co-opera-te to form non-positive retaining means between the lift 82 and the non-rotatable member which includes the cross-bar member 91 so that the lift can be non-positively retained in angular positions relative to the vertical axis of rotation of the lift and which positions are spaced 90 apart.

The lift 82 can thus be raised and lowered and whilst in any of its vertical positions, can be moved horizontally in an angular manner about its vertical axis of rotation i.e. about the vertical axis of the post 84 although at angular positions spaced 90 apart the non-positive retaining means co-operate with a snap engagement to tend to retain the lift in a particular angular position and the apparatus is so arranged relative to the bath 81 that in one of these positions the fork-lift arrangement 94 is disposed above the bath so that when an invalid is being lowered and lifted into and from the bath the lift is nonpositively retained in this position, to avoid the invalid being subjected to jarring such as would occur if the lift were brought accidentally into contact with the bath. Similarly, when the lift is removed from the bath and is angularly moved through an angle of 90 it can be nonpositively retained in other desired positions away from the bath.

In order that the lift 82 can be looked in an angular position away from the bath and intermediate its top and bottom positions 106 and 107 respectively at a height suitable for cooperation with a wheeled chair, location means are provided between the lift 82 and the post 83. The location means comprises a collar 98 secured to the exterior of the post and provided at one end position with a lug 99 which extends laterally outwardly from the collar and mounted on the lug or a pair of brackets which define an outwardly convergent gap 100 which is adapted to receive a depending movable stop 101 secured to and forming a rigid part of the sleeve 108. The movable stop 101 and the gap 100 are so relatively arranged that when the fork-lift arrangement 94 is moved away from the bath into a non positively retained position and is lowered so that the movable stop engages the gap 100 the lower end of the movable stop rests on the lug 99 so that the fork-lift portion is located against angular and downward movement to enable the invalid to be transferred to or from the fork-lift arrangement in safety.

It should be appreciated that the lift may be raised and lowered by operation or control of the pump 87 and can be moved horizontally in an angular manner about its vertical axis of rotation whilst however, a measure of restraint against angular movement is imposed on the lift against angular movement at predetermined angular positions but which restraint can be overcome by an attendant applying a horizontal force to the lift whereby the restraint is overcome against the gravitational effect of the lift and an invalid supported thereon due to the necessity for the lift to rise so that the grooves 95 are clear of the balls 96 after which the lower end edge of the sleeve rides on the balls.

Referring to FIGURE 10 this shows a modification of the apparatus described in FIGURES 7 to 9 and in this modification, in which similar reference numerals are employed as in FIGURES 7 to 9, the post 83 is shortened and rests at its lower end on a hollow pedestal support 102 in which the jack 84 is located and which pedestal support provides an oil reservoir, not shown, and a housing and electric motor and pump therein (also not shown) whereby the jack can be power operated by actuation of suitable control means.

The movable stop 101 of the location means is adapted to co-operate at its lower end with a fixed stop not shown and formed or provided on the hollow pedestal suppolt 102 so as to lock the lift 82 in an angular position away from the bath and intermediate its top and bottom positions.

The sleeve 108 co-operates with a cross-bar 91 as described with reference to FIGURES 7 to 9 so that nonpositive retaining means are provided between the lift and a stationary support of which the post 83 forms a part.

Whilst in the various forms our apparatus described with reference to the drawings power means lo. the jack, has been described as being operated by a pump which is actuated either by an electric motor or manually, it should be appreciated that the jack might conveniently be operated by a mains water supply or may be operated pneumatically.

The invention thus provides an invalid lifting apparatus of the kind specified in the first paragraph of this specification and in which the lift can be held in a non-positive manner in a desired angular position but can be moved horizontally in an angular manner against the non-positive restraint imposed in any vertical position which the lift is caused to assume and which is advantageous when dealing with invalids in varying conditions of health and suffering from different complaints.

What we then claim is:

1. Invalid lifting apparatus for use in the transfer of an invalid into and out of a bath, said apparatus comprising a stationary support having a vertical axis, a lift by which an invalid can be carried, said lift and support having co-operating parts whereby said lift is mounted on said support for vertical sliding movement relative thereto and for horizontal swinging movement about said vertical axis, power means for effecting at least upward movement of said lift relative to said support, non-positive retaining means operative over at least a substantial part of the vertical travel of said lift and when said lift is in a pair of predetermined angularly spaced positions for restraining said lift against swinging movement about said axis between said spaced positions and positive location means on said lift and said support which co-operate in a predetermined angular and vertical position of said lift relative to said support to prevent downward and angular movement of said lift whereby said lift is held rigidly to enable an invalid to be transferred to or from said lift in safety.

2. Invalid lifting apparatus according to claim 1 in which the power means includes a hydraulic piston and cylinder arrangement and in which the stationary support includes a vertical guide member the longitudinal axis of which constitutes the vertical axis about which the lift is swingable and said lift includes a tubular member which 7 has a cylindrical bearing surface co-oper ative with a cylindrical bearing surface of said guide member, said piston and cylinder arrangement comprising a cylinder secured to the support and co-axial with the guide member thereon and a piston secured to said lift for movement with the tubular member thereof.

3. Invalid lifting apparatus for use in the transfer of an invalid into and out of a bath, said apparatus comprising a stationary support including a guide member having a vertical axis, a lift by which an invalid can be carried, said lift including a tubular member which cooperates with said guide member whereby said lift is guided during vertical movement thereof relative to said support and said lift and said support having co-operating parts whereby said lift is mounted on said support for horizontal swinging movement about the vertical axis of said guide member, power means for effecting at least upward movement of said lift relative to said support, non-positive retaining means operative over at least a substantial part of the vertical travel of said lift and when said lift is in a pair of predetermined angularly spaced positions for restraining said lift against swinging movement about said axis between said spaced positions and positive location means on said lift and said support which co-operate in a predetermined angular and vertical position of said lift relative to said support to prevent downward and angular movement of said lift whereby said lift is held rigidly to enable an invalid to be transferred to or from said lift in safety.

4. An invalid lifting apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the non-positive retaining means comprises a cam plate on the lift and a catch bar on the support spring urged into engagement with said cam plate and extending parallel to the direction of travel of said cam plate whereby said cam plate and catch bar co-operate over the whole range of vertical movement of the lift.

5. Invalid lifting apparatus according to claim 4 in which said catch bar is mounted on the guide member of the support and in which a stop bar is rigidly secured to said guide member and stops are provided on said cam plate co-operating with said stop bar to limit the degree of swinging movement of said lift.

6. Invalid lifting apparatus for use in the transfer of an invalid into and out of a bath, said apparatus comprising a stationary support, a lift by which an invalid can be carried, said stationary support including a vertical guide member the longitudinal axis of which is vertical, said lift including a tubular member which has a cylindrical surface co-operative with a cylindrical surface of said guide member whereby said lift is guided during vertical movement thereof relative to said support and said lift and support having co-operating parts whereby said lift is mounted on said support for horizontal swinging movement about the longitudinal axis of the guide member of the support, piston and cylinder means for effecting at least upward movement of said lift relative to said support, non-positive retaining means operative over at least a substantial part of the vertical travel of said lift and when said lift is in a pair of predetermined angularly spaced positions for restraining said lift against swinging movement about said axis between said spaced positions and positive location means on said lift and said support which cooperate in a predetermined angular and vertical position of said lift relative to said support to prevent downward and angular movement of said lift whereby said lift is held rigidly to enable an invalid to be transferred to or from said lift in safety.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,102,154 8/1935 Bates 4-170 2,187,283 1/1940 Scheutz. 2,664,142 12/1953 Scheuerman et al. 5-81 X 2,679,890 6/1954 Zannoth 581 X 2,725,093 11/1955 Saelen 58l LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. GROSS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. INVALID LIFTING APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE TRANSFER OF AN INVALID INTO AND OUT OF A BATH, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A STATIONARY SUPPORT HAVING A VERTICAL AXIS, A LIFT BY WHICH AN INVALID CAN BE CARRIED SAID LIFT AND SUPPORT HAVING CO-OPERATING PARTS WHEREBY SAID LIFT IS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FOR VERTICAL SLIDING MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO AND FOR HORIZONTAL SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS, POWER MEANS FOR EFFECTING AT LEAST UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID LIFT RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT, NON-POSITIVE RETAINING MEANS OPERATIVE OVER AT LEAST A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE VERTICAL TRAVEL OF SAID LIFT AND WHEN SAID LIFT IS IN A PAIR OF PREDETERMINED ANGULARLY SPACED POSITIONS FOR RESTRAINING SAID LIFT AGAINST SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT SAID AXIS BETWEEN SAID SPACED POSITIONS AND POSITIVE LOCATION MEANS ON SAID LIFT AND SAID SUPPORT WHICH CO-OPERATE IN A PREDETERMINED ANGULAR AND VERTICAL POSITION OF SAID LIFT RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT TO PREVENT DOWNWARD AND ANGULAR 